IKEA family live

I am so smitten with the new beta site IKEA family live...it's real people with real inspiration from their own homes, with of course using IKEA goodies. I really Love going to IKEA but I get soooo overwhelmed with everything and this gives me another visual on what I could do with certain pieces in certain spaces that I probably would of never thought of on my own. you can also join the IKEA FL flickr group or facebook page and share some of your own inspiration...who knows maybe you'll be on the site!

Here are some style shots that I pulled from the flickr group....

Zoe's 1st Birthday

At this time last year, I had called the doctor saying that I didn't feel very good. The doctor said my symptoms were probably that of the flu and said to just rest.....I told jay to go to work and had my mom come over because my intuition wasn't feeling "flu like"....at about 11:00am I felt worse so I called the doctor again and got the okay to go to the hospital...we packed up, called jay to meet us there and off we went.
11:30am, we arrived and my doctor took one look at me and said, "shes yellow" get her a bed. Turned out I was going into liver failure and preeclampsia. They tried to induce me but after 1 hour with no dilation, they rushed me into an emergency c-section. All I remember was lying on the table with an oxogen mask, not being able to wiggle my feet, hearing the click and clatter of tools and listening for a cry. Although she did not give out a whale, Zoe was born at 4:00pm with eyes wide open and arms and legs flailing! She was only 5 pounds but very alert.
One year later, she is still tiny but very mighty and her glowing personality never ceases to amaze us. What a year, went by so fast, It's hard to believe that she is on the verge of walking and talking already.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little peanut and may this coming year be just as exciting and happy as your first! Mama & Dada love you Zoe!

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Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Helen Dardik

I've been a fan of Helen Dardik for a while now and I'm just so smitten with some of her newest works.....

In the Green with....

To celebrate EARTH DAY, I'd like to honor two fabulously talented designers who have tapped into mother nature for inspiration and beautiful design.

Meet Norwegian furniture designer, Amy Hunting. Check out her award winning bookshelf consisting of wood collected from local timber importers waste bins in London each one shelf consists of over 20 sorts of reclaimed untreated wood.
Because Amy won the Green Furniture Award, her prototype has been taken on by Green Furniture Sweden and has been put into production using wood leftovers from a wood flooring factory in Sweden. You can purchase it here.








Next from across the globe in Portland, OR, designer/illustrator Karyn Fiebich has taken her illustrations to the level in the form of stencils and public art to send the green message. She has taken objects from her environment and molded her design aesthetic to it. Look at these lovely installations she did at the University of Oregon Art School.

Tea anyone?

Continuing on with our "GREEN" theme this week, I'd love to share with you these lovely organic cotton tea towels from slide sideways shop, I love the organic woodcut type of feel to them.

Spread the GREEN LOVE

Even though Earth Day is not a gift giving holiday, you can still spread the word about mother nature with these lovely little trinkets of green appreciation.



lovely wall prints by Tallu-lah letterpress



Practice random acts of gardening with these seed bombs! lovely wildflower mixture in the form of five little "bombs".
by VisuaLingual.


Moss Glob from Graceful Gardens in NYC

Freshlyblended on facebook

hi folks,
Just a quick announcement letting you know that I've decided to weed out my facebook page. I'm trying to separate my personal page from my FB family, only because there is just too much going on and most of my family are getting confused as to why there are so many "strangers" on my FB page. so to make life easier for all, i've created a freshlyblended page where you can easily become a fan and follow my design inspirations through there...it's way better than listening to me complain about lifes little stresses all the time! lol I will be removing all my FB people today but I have sent out fan page invites so if you want to stay connected then you'll have to except the fan page invite or just go directly to the page here and become a fan.

The rundown with Shelterpop

Let me take this quick minute to introduce a little "mini series" collaboration I've begun with a dear long distance friend and well known blogger, Erin Loechner (you know, design for mandkind). Erin has begun a new chapter in her career as the new social media director of Shelterpop. Now you know me, I don't usually put myself out there like this but I've know Erin for a while now and anything she does or finds is so inspiring to me, so I thought wouldn't it be great to share the wealth! I'll be posting some links to Erin's great articles once or twice a month as sort of a trend watch thing....here is our first run for some great spring trends and DIY Ideas.....


I love how jewel tones, bright colors, and bold prints are back in action. Erin gives some great tips on 10 ways you can freshen up your lifestyle for spring.


remember my post on those awesome air plant hanging pods a few posts back? well, just as i suspected, there is quite a trend going around on bringing your indoor plants to life with unexpected presentation.


and just as I said before, prints are evolving into a more geometric, organic, and bold state, which is totally inspired by the idea of patchwork. you'll be seeing it in translated in a more modern way in textiles, home design, and everywhere in between.

When you get to shelterpop, give yourself enough time to file through all the links and ideas they have to offer, there are sources everywhere! have fun!!!

POKETO & ECO PARTY MEARRY 100% RECYCLED BAG LINE

Launching April 20th is POKETO's new line of 100% recycled line of beautiful eco bags in collaboration with South Korean non-profit design brand, Eco Party Mearry. What a great way to celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd).
In true Poketo spirit, each bag is handmade by passionate young designers with the like minded desire to create wearable art that is recycled, functional, and beautiful without destroying the environment. They will be releasing these three styles online that day so save your pennies!

The Recycled Street Banner Bags are created out of street banners taken from Seoul and made by an eco-friendly non-profit shop in South Korea that specializes in creating one of a kind hand-crafted goods out of generally castoff objects. Instead of going to the dump, the banners are re-purposed into beautiful and durable bags with wonderful typography and splashes of colors.


These vibrant and airy bubble bags are the perfect accessory for spring! The Recycled Bubble Bags are also Made of 100% recycled street banners. From conception to execution all aspects of this bag consider both human and environment.


For the more whimsy in you Poketo is also launching these Recycled Suit Totes
Created with recycled clothing, the totes include neatly stitched leather handles (also created from recycled leather couches).

Hammocks and High Tea

LOVE the bright spring colors of Hammocks and High Tea's eco-friendly placemats and napkins.

Stacks and Stacks

Loving these stacked illustrations by Judy Kaufmann.

Air Plant Pods

So three months ago I decided that my indoor plant talents are nothing like my outdoor gardening skills (all that credit goes to my mother!) and got myself my first air plant from Pigeon Toe Ceramics (see this post). Such an amazing living thing to watch grow with hardly any water!  So right now I have my air plant sitting in a a small ceramic dish, then my mom came up with the clever idea of tying it to a small piece of drift wood, it does look great that way but I'm thinking of turning mine into a "hanging air plant" with these beautiful, simple hanging pods from the mud puppy shop. This way I can have something functional and intriguing to look at! score!

Patchwork

This isn't your grandma's version of patchwork....It's a new seating system created by creative affairs out of Barcelona, Spain.

Eames Century Modern Catalog

House Industries Eames Century Modern Catalog is over 90 pages of the gorgeous mid century art and typography inspired by the Eames', you know... Charles and Ray. This is true timeless design at it's best. you can also watch the printing process here.

Hillary Bird

More springtime inspiration from Illustrator, Hillary Bird....I do love those terrariums!

Color Me :: SPRING!

In honor of our random 70+ degree day, i'm in the mood for some springtime!



1. "Happy Easter"  2. "Day Ninety One"  3. "New Trio"  4. "happy egg tree"